When You're Sick
by KeepSmilingOn329
Summary: One-shot. When Sayaka falls ill and cannot make it to school, Kyoko somehow decides it would be a good idea to visit her at home and look after her. After all, no one likes being alone…


**Oh hell yeah, my first contribution to the Madoka fanfiction universe! I've been a massive fan of the series for a long time now, and I haven't even shown my dedication :O So I went ahead and made this, to fuel my lovely character building of Kyoko and KyoSaya and stuff. I'm sorry if I get their characters wrong this time around, it's my first grasp at them anyway. So, I'm sorry if the ending's a little rushed; I guess I really wanted to finish this story because I had already spent forever on it and gaaah. So I hope you enjoy! No flames please, but constructive criticism is warmly accepted with flowers and hugs! Please be nice to me, Madoka fandom; I'm a newbie here :') So without further ado, here's ****When You're Sick!**** I don't own Puella Magi Madoka Magica or anything, I'm just a diehard Kyoko fan and KyoSaya shipper, don't hurt me D: **

* * *

When You're Sick

_One-shot. When Sayaka falls ill and cannot make it to school, Kyoko somehow decides it would be a good idea to visit her at home and look after her. After all, no one likes being alone… _

Sayaka Miki breathed out in exhaustion, before swiping another tissue from under the sea of miscellaneous objects strewn atop her bedside table that she had pulled over for this very occasion. She weakly blew her nose into the object and then tossed the damp tissue with all the strength she could manage into the nearby bin. She sighed as she observed it bounce off of the existing tissues piled generously into the small area and onto the cold floor below. That had been the fourth tissue that missed the target today. Sayaka blinked and tugged her quilt further up to cover her shoulders for extra warmth. She needed it anyway, at this time.

The curtains that hung neatly over the tall windows surrounding her did a great job of keeping the natural light from outside out of her sight, but nothing completely blocked the streams of sun from creeping into the room. It was a beautiful day outside, as always. Sayaka almost envied her classmates as they had the privilege to wallow in the comfort of a brilliant morning, while she, sick as she was, had to be kept inside her bedroom on small doses of medication and the pressure to sleep as much as she could to recover.

And here she had thought that the Puella Magi couldn't get ill! Sayaka brushed her thumb lightly against her soul gem ring, wondering if she should just use up more of her magic to heal herself there and then. But the once vibrant blue that had radiated out from the jewel had alas dimmed due to the fact she hadn't collected any grief seeds recently. She had no spares. She didn't feel like hunting right after a recovery. Damn it.

Sayaka turned over on her side and fluttered her eyes open to the mirror, and more importantly, the girl staring back out at her. She scanned her own features. Dark circles shadowed her exasperated eyes, her fair skin had unhealthily paled to a chalky white, her nose was ringed in a scarlet haze and her once tidy blue hair had tangled into messy clumps that fell sharply about her face. Sayaka turned away in disgust and laid herself back into the mattress, the back of her hand resting lightly upon her forehead. She winced as a burning sensation came into contact with it, indicating strong signs of a fever. Her head throbbed and her brain seemed to pound against her skull as she felt a wave of nausea sweep over her senses again. This was going to be a long day for her.

She didn't feel hungry at all (in fact, the sole thought of food right now repulsed her), but a drink of water, a painkiller tablet and a lukewarm bowl of chicken soup had been placed by her side by her mother just in case. She propped herself up on her shoulders and reached out for the glass before raising the rim to her chapped, numb lips and taking a gentle sip of the cool liquid. Her parents both had daytime jobs and weren't expecting their daughter to be suddenly ill like this on an important event that they both seemed to have that day. Therefore, because of that reason, Sayaka had to take care of herself until her parents came home later in the afternoon.

The girl never wished to be alone, but it couldn't be helped. She always had her parents' mobile numbers within her reach if she needed anything, right? Sayaka nuzzled into her pillow, shutting her eyes tightly as she attempted for the third time to ignore her current state and succumb to sleep. That's what she needed most, right? She was almost there, almost in complete relaxation…

…Before a voice bombarded her peaceful thoughts at that instance.

_**'Oi, dunce, why aren't you in school today? Won't your pink-haired friend miss you?'**_

Sayaka's eyes widened. She let a low grumble rip from the back of her throat as she acknowledged her sudden intruder of her mind.

_'I suppose *Madoka* will miss me, yes, but unfortunately I'm __sick__ today. Ever heard of the word?'_

Hadn't this girl ever encountered a thing called 'privacy' before? Sayaka rolled her eyes in frustration as she realised that this girl would have been right outside her apartment block in order to converse with her.

_**'You really are an idiot, aren't you? Just use the magic you have to cure yourself, stupid!' **_Kyoko Sakura, the girl who had invaded her personal space, replied with smugness lacing her tone.

_'I'm running out of magic! My soul gem's darkened and I haven't got any grief seeds! Don't you think I would have tried using magic if I could?'_

There was a sigh. It sounded pitiful, yet Sayaka shrugged the feeling off and furrowed her eyebrows, wishing Kyoko would go away sooner or later so she could get the sleep she longed for. Yet, at the back of her mind, she felt the slight tugging for company-but she immediately swallowed that thought.

_**'I can't believe how useless you are on your own. Are you with anyone at the moment?'**_

_'…No…'_

_**'Right then!' **_There was a noticeable change in Kyoko's cheery tone. '_**Open the door for me, will ya? I'm coming up to take care of you.'**_

Sayaka spluttered audibly as she choked on the air around her. Kyoko? _Here?! Taking care of her?! _Sayaka stuttered aloud, trying to find the words to reply to someone who had practically just invited herself into her home. And Kyoko, of all people? No way! If it had been Madoka, Hitomi or Kyosuke perhaps, then of course! But Kyoko?

Just as Sayaka was about to use her telepathy to shout a forced 'no' to the uncharacteristically friendly redhead who stood in front of the apartment block door, waiting, Sayaka's feelings of curiosity snuck in on her from behind again. While she was obviously repelled by the girl who had tried to kill her twice before, she also felt slightly intrigued as to what she had to say for her. And Sayaka _did _want some company in whatever form, rather than being left alone to fend for herself the whole day. Perhaps Kyoko was right. Maybe she was useless on her own. Sayaka let out an exhale before reluctantly sitting up and placing a wobbly foot onto the floor below her. She probably was going to kill herself for this later on, but right now she couldn't pass down the opportunity of having someone there with her.

_'Fine. I'll let you in.' _Sayaka huffed, staggering weakly to the front door and unlocking the apartment building entrance, as well as the door itself.

She tumbled into bed again shortly after, relieving her legs of the pressure from manoeuvring around. She wondered why she had just done what she did. Oh well. Now she'd find out why Kyoko would want to still have business with her after their previous encounters. Sayaka yawned and blew her nose again, not even bothering to make the bin this time and instead draped the wet cloth onto the floor below. She also was interested in how Kyoko would risk her own health to stay inside this hazardous zone for more than one minute, anyway. Well, Kyoko was always fighting the Witches, right? Of course she had power to heal herself afterward with her grief seeds.

Her thoughts though, for the second time that day, were cut short by the click of her front door opening. She bit her lip, remembering that she hardly looked presentable just then—wait, why was she worrying about her appearance now, when it was only Kyoko? Sayaka chose to concentrate her mind on the barrier slowly opening before her instead of why on earth she let Kyoko into her house in the first place.

After hearing the door pressed shut, Sayaka swore she heard a brief exclamation from outside. No doubt it was Kyoko already. Before she could ponder over the other girl's actions, the door to her bedroom swung open. Stepping inside was none other than the tall, selfish-yet-whimsical girl with the impressively long fiery red hair tied into her unkempt signature ponytail, Kyoko Sakura.

"Woah, blockhead, you look terrible!" She noticed as her burning scarlet eyes fell upon the sickly girl mostly hidden under the blanket, but her facial features could be made out easily enough.

"Gee, thanks" Sayaka wheezed out sarcastically, her voice with a nasally edge as her blocked nose prohibited her to speak properly.

Kyoko chuckled and then revealed an apple from behind her back, taking a crunchy bite out of the crisp vermillion surface. "Are you sure you don't want some?" She asked between mouthfuls, gesturing to the food item clutched in her hand.

Sayaka huffed. "I told you before, I won't accept stolen food."

"Suit yourself" Kyoko answered, trying to ignore Sayaka's blunt tone, before devouring the rest of the fruit with haste and throwing the core into her 'friend's' tissue-stuffed bin, only to have it roll on the floor moments later.

As Kyoko made herself comfortable in Sayaka's bedroom by pulling over an oak chair to the side of the bed and perching on it, the sick girl wondered how stupid she actually was to let Kyoko into her house. She really was beginning to regret her decision, regardless of whether she would have been lonely or not. After all, Kyoko was only an acquaintance with an ambiguous character, right? She was the same Puella Magi who had attacked her for her noble mindset, the same Puella Magi that had tried to kill her for simply wasting food, the same Puella Magi who threatened to hurt Kyosuke…!

But then again, why was Kyoko so concerned about Sayaka anyways? Like she had stated before in the church, Kyoko was a Puella Magi that only thought about herself, yet she was so willing to befriend the blue- haired girl and 'save' her from whatever. Sayaka still wasn't clear about the reason why Kyoko was objecting her own nature in the first place.

"Why…" Sayaka began, snuffling. "…Why are you so worried about me all the time?"

"We're both Magical Girls, aren't we? We have to look out for each other, even if we disagree sometimes, right?" Kyoko grinned mischievously, small playful fang glinting in the corner of her mouth.

"But…I don't get it. Why are you so-"She interrupted herself with a slight cough. "-Kind to me when you should only be concerned about yourself? This sickness I have doesn't even have anything to do with the 'path I'm heading down' as a Puella Magi, yet you're still here."

Kyoko reclined in her seat, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling and soaking in the surroundings of the new room. She smoothed back her hair that draped over the edge of the chair and dug around in her pockets in search for some more snacks.

"I dunno, to be honest with myself," Kyoko admitted, reaching for a stick of Pocky in the box she found and holding it in her mouth. "Maybe it's because I know that you're by yourself, and there's nothing that sucks more than being alone, isn't there?"

Sayaka nodded in agreement, her hostility disappearing for a few moments as she consumed the truth behind Kyoko's words. "I guess not…"

The redhead swallowed the remains of the chocolate stick and smiled again. "I'm glad we finally understand each other."

"This is just only one time, though. Don't think that I'm going to adopt that selfish attitude of yours any time soon."

Kyoko laughed lightly, displaying a small contrast from her usual boisterous self. "So…"She started, deciding to change the subject as a way to prevent the former from turning into a deep debate about morals and whatnot. "How were you doing in here before I came in?"

Sayaka grabbed another tissue from beside her and blew her nose into it with all her might. "I was doing fine…"

That was a lie. Although Sayaka believed she could have managed on her own, she secretly did want someone to talk to. Even if it had to be Kyoko. Said girl however even saw threw the thin statement herself and scoffed.

"Fool, you weren't," Kyoko denied with a smirk. "You needed someone with you, didn't you?"

With that, the girl with the ponytail snatched the used tissue from Sayaka's hands and actually placed it into the bin without a care. Sayaka blinked through blurred vision, wondering whether to chastise Kyoko for taking her tissue without as much as a request or to thank her for helping her. She instead said nothing and watched Kyoko sit back in her seat again with eager red eyes, probably expecting an answer from her. Sayaka narrowed her eyes and hid the bottom half of her face with the covers, trying to stop the faint blush of embarrassment.

"N-no, I could have looked after myself today perfectly…"

"Shut up, I know you couldn't do it on your own," Kyoko's head motioned to the objects on the side table. "If I hadn't come up here, would you have even touched all of that stuff?"

Sayaka scoffed, her eyes travelling to the banana amongst the other various things. "I've lost my appetite. Being sick does that to you, if you didn't know."

Kyoko frowned and bent over, not warning Sayaka before suddenly slapping the back of her hand against the blue-haired girl's forehead which earned her a discomforted yelp of surprise. She held her hand in place for a few moments much to the startled protests of Sayaka, before pulling it back by her side.

"Yep, you have a pretty strong fever there. Boy, you really are that sick, huh? Well, if you're too stubborn to use your magic to help yourself then I guess you're just gonna wait it out until you get better…" The girl sighed, almost disapprovingly. "Anyway, to get better you need to take all of that stuff on the table. I'm not going to sit here and let food go to waste."

"Then you eat it."

"You know what I mean, idiot."

Sayaka bit the interior of her cheek, displaying her unwillingness to cooperate. Her appetite had vanished, she was sick and tired and all of this thinking she was faced with was making her agonizing headache worse. Mixed emotions coursed through her veins. So Kyoko was so intent on helping her and keeping her company, despite the things that had happened between themselves previously? Well, Sayaka had noticed that Kyoko was maybe coming forward with situations to develop a friendship more recently. Perhaps this had something to do with that?

She peered over and saw that Kyoko hadn't altered her firm expression. Somehow she was really set on this. Partly because she was tired as hell, and partly because she actually wanted to recover naturally from this sickness, Sayaka breathed out and mentally told herself that she had just given in. Reluctant eyes flashed over towards the redhead.

"Fine…"She spoke through loosely gritted teeth as a means to convey her dissatisfaction. "…I'll have some."

Kyoko's face immediately brightened and she reached over for the cool glass of water that chilled the tips of her fingers. She held it by the rim and passed it to Sayaka, the painkiller tablet resting in her other hand before she emptied it into the blue-haired girl's. Sayaka, unaffected by the idea of water passing through her system, swallowed a gush of liquid and the chalky tablet with ease (disregarding the slight uncomfortable sensation in her throat left by the tablet making its presence known). However when Kyoko nudged her head to the banana and the bowl of soup, Sayaka felt more hesitant with her choices. She groaned quietly under her breath before pointing to the chicken soup with a shivering hand.

The veteran Puella Magi fished out another stick of Pocky for herself out of the confines of her pocket and shoved it in the crook of her teeth under her fang. Shortly after, she carefully handed the bowl to Sayaka, who sat up against her pillow in a somewhat delayed anticipation to receive the item. As Kyoko crunched on her chocolate snack, Sayaka silently struggled to hold the spoon properly due to her weakness.

The redhead watched in a distant fascination as Sayaka raised the spoon to her lips and unluckily spilled a little of the liquid over the sheets of her bed, not even bringing half a spoonful to her mouth in the end. Kyoko rolled her eyes while Sayaka's forehead creased. She tried again, but to no avail.

After a while, Kyoko decided that she couldn't watch Sayaka fail for much longer. She grabbed the spoon from her grasp, along with the bowl of soup which she held confidently in her other hand. Sayaka pursed her lips at the sight of Kyoko showing her up yet again…within matters concerning food. But still, above everything else, Kyoko had taken her food from her. She was so close to making the spoon, as well! A newfound determination had struck inside her, born most probably out of competitiveness. Just as Sayaka was about to argue, Kyoko threw the spoon into the bowl and used a finger of her free hand to sharply press it against Sayaka's numb lips, effectively shushing her.

"There, that shut you up, didn't it?" Kyoko leered, gulping down the rest of her Pocky as Sayaka stared, startled at the finger pushing on her lips. "Anyway, how the hell are you planning to eat all that if you keep acting like a cripple?"

"…But I _am_ a 'cripple'! I'm sick!" Sayaka let out helplessly behind Kyoko's finger, barely an incoherent mumble.

"Mm-hm. I guess I'm going to have to help you, aren't I?"

"N-no!" Sayaka spluttered, finally being able to force Kyoko off of her. "I'm fine by myself."

"That's another lie. Boy, you really are a bad liar when you're sick, aren't you? If I had a spare grief seed on me I'd give it to you right away, trust me," Kyoko joked. She held up the spoon with the hand she had used to shush Sayaka, before dipping the surface into the pool of Chicken soup and raising it again. "Seeing as I haven't got one now, however…open up!"

Kyoko inched the spoonful of soup closer to Sayaka's face, when Sayaka realised what Kyoko was doing. She yelped in surprise as the steel pressed in between her lips, beckoning for entrance. She had no choice but to accept the delivery and swallow the soup, while Kyoko smiled in satisfaction. Sayaka coughed loudly as the spoon retracted from her mouth and into the open air, empty.

"Wh-wh-_what the hell was that_?" Sayaka choked, trying to comprehend why Kyoko would indulge her in this madness, as well as the fact she found herself unable to lose the scarlet blush spreading in her cheeks.

"I was helping you," Kyoko replied plainly, gathering another round of soup onto the spoon. "Now if you don't mind, open the hatch again!"

"Ah-I do mind, actually! One moment you're trying to kill me, the next you're spoon-feeding me soup! _What_?"

Kyoko closed her eyes. "It's not exactly magic's fault that you're ill, right? So I can't criticize you for heaping this onto yourself as a result of your own actions. Besides, one of my fellow Puella Magi is out of commission, and therefore I have to help her to get better to defeat the Witches and save people, am I right?"

Sayaka raised a sceptic eyebrow at Kyoko's statement, the edge of her mouth curled downward in disbelief. "Really? This is coming from the girl who wholly admitted she was selfish, that she would use her magic for herself only, and how the only purpose of defeating Witches was only the reward of Grief Seeds afterwards."

Said veteran chuckled aloud. "Yeah, I might have been lying about that last part. I thought all that 'justice' business appealed to you, huh? Anyway, I guess the real reason is…" She stopped.

"…Is…?" Sayaka pressed on.

"Well, I don't just do this for anyone, you know. I guess it was just that I…well… never mind," The dull sentimentalism that flitted uncharacteristically across Kyoko's visage suddenly disappeared, much to the dismay of Sayaka's curiosity. "I hope you remember what I told you in my father's church that day."

Sayaka tilted her head in interest at the change of topic. "Yeah…I do. I know I misunderstood you before, Kyoko."

"Tch, yeah, but I guess most of that was my fault. Sorry. So, shall we get on with this?"

Sayaka admitted to herself that she had mellowed a fair amount since she first let Kyoko into the apartment. And also she realised- so had Kyoko.

While Kyoko gently fed spoons of soup into Sayaka's mouth-with no hesitation from each of them-,Sayaka wondered why she initially hated Kyoko in the beginning. Sure, Kyoko could be reckless and rude at times, but inside she enclosed a personality opposite to what Sayaka thought she was capable of. Sayaka relaxed in her bed happily, her eyes distracted with the ceiling as she focused on the white above her. She didn't want to, but slowly, she felt her eyelids droop with fatigue. Tiredness overcame her.

She stole one last glance at Kyoko, now a blur of vibrant reds and greens in her distant eyes, before retiring to the sleep she finally deserved. Everything fell behind the curtain of darkness. For once that day, Sayaka enjoyed a peaceful sleep that wasn't hindered by her illness. It was a beautiful rest, yet no presence of a dream was enveloped.

* * *

In a moment that clearly felt as if it had just been literally a few minutes of slumber, Sayaka felt her eyes flutter open.

She shot up. To her right the bedside table remained, still laden with the bowl of half-eaten soup, the banana and the near-empty glass of water. She squinted through the dim light at the clock to the far left of her and drew a quick gasp. It was almost the evening already? How could she have slept for that long? Then Sayaka remembered.

_Kyoko!_

Her eyes scanned the room for the girl who cared enough to visit her earlier in the morning. There was nothing, as she expected. The chair she had used had been pushed back against the wall with no trace of the girl, and the apple core was nowhere to be found. Sayaka narrowed her eyes and sighed, secretly wishing that she and Kyoko would have spoken more. She had just torn off so many layers of Kyoko's tough exterior, almost at the centre, before she went and fell asleep. Wait, what was she doing again? Wishing for Kyoko to come back? She scoffed. _Yeah right. I don't…_mid-thought, Sayaka stopped herself. No… Kyoko was friendly to her today. She almost saw something different behind those reckless eyes. Sayaka sunk back into her pillow, trying to take her mind off of their previous encounter.

_Should I talk to Kyosuke the day after tomorrow? Is he even in school then? If he's at home I could visit him and—but then Kyoko could be there like before—_

She blew her nose into a tissue. Why was she thinking about Kyoko again? It didn't make any sense. Perhaps there was something inside her that actually wanted to be friends with that girl.

Wait.

Hold up.

Friends? With Kyoko? Did she really just say that? Sayaka had to rearrange the pieces of her mind then. Well, she was sick, so she should allow her thoughts to be all over the place, anyway…

"Sayaka? Are you awake now?" A familiar voice was to be heard behind her bedroom door.

Her ears perked up as said barrier delicately opened to reveal the feminine figure behind it. Sayaka managed the best beam she could.

"Hey mother" She greeted, happy for some more company after her long sleep.

"Oh Sayaka were you alright on your own? I came back home as fast as I could after work…to find you peacefully asleep! Do you feel better now?" Sayaka's mother questioned, a concerned hand lightly brushing against her own cheek as she gazed softly at her daughter bundled within the quilts, pillows and tissues.

"I guess I do, now…" Sayaka admitted, sniffing. It was true; she had felt her temperature decrease quite an amount since this morning. "…Thanks for checking on me."

Sayaka's mother returned the smile. "You're welcome. Thank goodness you're getting better. Well, I have the dinner to cook so if you want some, just come down at any time, alright?"

"Sure."

As her mother left the room and closed the door again, Sayaka reached over and held out her hand, activating the sensor which turned on her lamp. It was still fairly light outside but Sayaka could hardly see anything in the dark when too tired, usually. She let out a deep breath and straightened up, clicking the air out between her bones, before turning around and using the bed as support to stand herself up.

Sayaka stood in place for a while, before something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. All the curtains were draped over each window in a precise fashion but one. One curtain let the gleaming light of sunset partly through, as it had been tampered with. Sayaka meandered through the river of tissues to arrive at her destination. She studied the curtain while thinking hard for the answer, before her eyes met with it.

On the floor, pushing the area where two curtains came into contact outwards, sat a grief seed. Sayaka blinked in disbelief and picked it up, holding it further to her face to confirm its validity. No way. It was real. And it was…here? She turned back to the small, yet open space where a scrap of paper lay occupying the emptiness. Sayaka held it between finger and thumb, setting her eyes on the typical handwriting before her.

_Considering the state you were in and how you didn't want to use magic or crap like that,_

_I went and got this for you._

_Go heal yourself so we can hang out for real, dumbass._

_Maybe you can feed me soup next time too? _

_-Kyoko_

_(PS. You look pretty cute when you're sleeping)_

Sayaka stopped reading, unsure about what to think. She bit her lip, a slight blush growing on her cheeks that she couldn't distinguish from her sickness and her flattered self. Kyoko, of all people, did this for her… She really had a nice side to her after all, didn't she? Oh well. At least Sayaka would go to sleep recovered tonight.

_Friends? With Kyoko? _Sayaka grinned to herself as she replayed her thoughts from earlier.

_Challenge accepted._


End file.
